The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by refusing to allow a Christian flag to fly in front of city hall. In the Shurtleff v. Boston decision written by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court ruled that because the city of Boston’s flag-raising program “did not express government speech,” Boston’s refusal to let petitioners fly their “Christian flag” “violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”

This opinion shows a respect for the First Amendment. The government must remain viewpoint neutral when it comes to allowing speech in these types of situations. Boston had allowed many other flags to fly at city hall. They had wrongly singled out the Christian flag. That it was a unanimous decision from this court is particularly noteworthy.